COLUMBIA, S.C. - Rudy McRomney, the composite name used as political shorthand to denote the top three Republican presidential hopefuls, might soon be expanded to Rudy “Huck” McRomney. “I wish my name would get in the moniker,” said former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at Tuesday night’s Republican debate here. “I could use the bump.”

Based on his widely praised performances in Tuesday’s debate and an earlier debate in California, Huckabee’s bump might be taking shape. Pundits and politicians say he is rapidly ascending into the top tier of GOP candidates, an elite group that until Tuesday had been limited to Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney.

“I thought tonight you saw, in my view, an expansion from three to four,” former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steel told The Examiner in the post-debate “spin room” at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. “Tonight you saw a great shift.”